I wish for each of you to experience one true inspirational person in your life.

I know of many people who are truly inspirational and even know some personally. One of them is Juanita Cosslett CPS. I have known Juanita since 2001, when I joined the International Association of Administrative Professionals. Man, was she intimidating! She knew parliamentary procedure, knew all about IAAP, and more. She mentored, cajoled, critiqued meetings, and touched many, many people. She was a Colorado-Wyoming-Montana Division President in 2000 and won a Distinguished President’s Award for increasing membership.

She truly believed that each member was unique and could do anything with the right guidance.

We traveled to several CWM Division meetings together for the last 9 years. One of the best trips was my first International Meeting in Albuquerque NM. They made the misguided assumption that I knew directions and let me drive part of the way home to Grand Junction, CO. Needless to say, we took an unintended side trip of about 100 miles – because I took a wrong turn. My friends now know that I get lost just going across the hallway to the bathroom.

She encouraged me to run for IAAP offices, including CWM Division President, a position I held from 2007-2009. The first virtual assistant to hold a division presidency. She loved IAAP and was strong in her belief that it was a member’s organization and not a business.

Juanita unexpectedly died on Christmas Eve, and I still expect her to jump up and say, “Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated!”

She touched so many people with her wisdom kindness and encouragement.

This is what Tish Neff says about Juanita:

“Juanita’s passing grieves me inexpressibly; I cannot hold back my tears. Her passing leaves a void in our hearts and in our organization.
Sorrow fills our hearts at this moment; a sorrow that is very deep and personal for many of us.

I shall always remember Juanita for her integrity, her boundless enthusiasm for whatever task she took in hand, and for the warm and glowing brightness and courage of her friendship. She was so generous with giving her knowledge and support to others.

May I join in extending to her family, her friends, and to the members who knew her my heartfelt sympathy, and my prayers…”

Nancy Upchurch CPS/CAP says:

“Juanita will be missed by so many because she touched so many lives. She was a very special lady and a great mentor to members in the CWM Division. I cherish the memories with her. One that stands out is the IAAP Road Warriors when she was Division President. We ventured to Cody and Gillette, Wyoming, in blizzard conditions to assist in their IMPACT meetings. We were often times in knee-deep snow and unable to see the edge of the roads…but we had great quality time together, helped build those two chapter, and had so much fun…just one of the memories that will last a lifetime. My heart goes out to her family at this difficult time. I know we have another angel to watch over us…a very special angel. Thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.”

May you touch another person in some way today that inspires them!

Godspeed my friend!

We did something different for Thanksgiving this year. My husband, two dogs and I all went camping over the holiday. Now, that meant a lot of sacrifice on my part, because I missed the Black Friday shopping. This has been a tradition for at least 10 years and I love getting up at 1:00am and meeting my sister-in-law, nieces, and others at the mall by 3:00am. I have had the pleasure of being first in line at KMart once.

However, the weather is beautiful and in the high 40s, so camping was pulling on me. We loaded up Thanksgiving Day (after my kids left to go to their dad’s) and off we went. We camped in SE Utah in Yellow Cat, where we can see the backside of Arches National Monument. I read, watched some tv, read some more, hiked, did some target shooting, read some more, and we had a blast. We did bury the trailer hitch and front truck tires in the sand when leaving, but hey – a little adventure is good. Only took us 10 minutes to get out.

I am thankful for being able to choose where and how to spend my time and in a beautiful area like Grand Junction, Colorado.

I am thankful for my kids stopping by to see us and spend one night with us before heading off to Denver.

I am thankful for who I am. I have worked hard to be me, and it is always a work in progress.

I will continue to write down (somewhere) what I am thankful for each day and that the fact I can breathe, walk, hug, love, cry, smile, laugh, and more is worth be ever grateful on those days where everything seems to be rather gloomy.

And, really, really thankful my trailer had a heater!

We first met each other when we were single moms, with 3 kids each, and it was the best. We have known each other for more than 20 years. The best part of our friendship? We can go 8 months without talking to each other and when we get together it is like we had talked yesterday. And, we were both born in December!

Cherish your friends – they are a one in a million!